(o) Tommy Johnson (1928) ("Big Road Blues")
Recorded February 3, 1928 at Memphis Auditorium, Memphis, Tenn.;
Matrix (41837-2)
Tommy Johnson, voc, g; Charlie McCoy, g
Released on Victor 21279
Listen here:
The Mississippi Sheiks had used Johnson's "Big Road Blues" melody and part of the lyrics in their successful "Stop and Listen Blues". Johnson was party to the copyright settlement, but was too drunk at the time to understand what he had signed to
(c) Mississippi Sheiks (1930) (as "Stop And Listen Blues")
Recorded February 17, 1930 Shreveport LA
Matrix 403806-A
Mississippi Sheiks (Walter Vinson (Jacobs) (g,v), Lonnie Chatman (vn)
Released on OKeh 8807
Listen here:
Lyrics, part of the melody and even Howlin' Wolf's Smokestack howl in "Smokestack Lightnin" (1956) and his earlier "Crying At Daybreak" (1951) on their turn, are rooted in Mississippi Sheiks "Stop and Listen Blues" (SEE HERE ABOVE) and in Floyd Jones "Dark Road" (SEE FURTHER ON in this post)
Listen here: "Smokestack Lightnin"
Recorded January 1956, Chicago
And here: "Crying at Daybreak"
Recorded October 21, 1951 in West Memphis, Arkansas
Willie Lofton's "Dark Road Blues" was also based on Tommy Johnson's "Big Road Blues".
(c) Willie Lofton (1935) (as "Dark Road Blues")
Willie Lofton:Vocals & Guitar
Recorded in Chicago, IL. Friday, November 1, 1935
Originally issued on Bluebird B6229 (78 RPM)
Listen here:
Canned Heat's "On the Road Again" was adapted by Alan Wilson from 2 songs by Chicago blues musician Floyd Jones : "On the Road Again" and "Dark Road", the last song was itself an adaptation of "Big Road Blues," recorded in 1928 by Delta blues musician Tommy Johnson.
Canned Heat credit Floyd Jones for borrowing the title and part of the lyrics from "On The Road Again" and some lyric lines from his "Dark Road".
The melody of Canned Heat's "On the Road Again" is pretty much their own, credited to Alan Wilson.
(c) Floyd Jones (1953) ("On The Road Again")
Recorded January 31, 1953 in Chicago, IL;
Matrix (U2367)
Floyd Jones, voc, g; Sunnyland Slim, p; Moody Jones, b; Alfred Wallace, dr
J.O.B. 1013
Listen here:
(c) Floyd Jones (1951) ("Dark Road")
Recorded March 22, 1951 in Chicago, IL;
Matrix (JB 35222, B)
Floyd Jones, voc, g; # Billy Howell, tp; Sunnyland Slim, p; Moody Jones, b; Alfred Wallace, dr
Released on J.O.B. 1001
Besides influenced by Willie Lofton's "Dark Road Blues" (lyrics), the melody of Floyd Jones' "Dark Road" and "On The Road Again" was used by Howlin Wolf in his "Crying At Daybreak" and "Smokestack Lightnin" (SEE ABOVE)
Listen here:
Here's Canned Heat's adaptation of Floyd Jones' "Dark Road" and "On the Road Again".
As I said above, the melody of Canned Heat's "On the Road Again" is pretty much their own, credited to Alan Wilson.
They released it as a single in April 1968, and it appeared on their 1968 album Boogie with Canned Heat as well as the 1969 compilation The Canned Heat Cookbook. It reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart and number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100.
But already in 1966 Canned Heat had recorded a straight cover of Tommy Johnson's "Big Road Blues".
(c) Canned Heat (1966) (as "Big Road Blues")
(c) Bonnie Raitt 1971 (" Big Road" )
"Big Road" was on Bonnie's first album
Listen here:
More versions here:
More coverversions and the lyrics of Tommy Johnson's version:
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